How your jewels hold the key to your happiness

... but only if you wear the RIGHT ones

M any women attach deep, personal significance to their birthstones — wearing them to mark the great life stages of engagement, marriage and birth. Cancerians are drawn to the beauty of the pearl, while aries relish the flash of blue stones.

What’s more, it is said that wearing gems and precious stones aligned with your sign of the zodiac boosts your mood and energy.

In fact, birthstones are credited with enhancing certain attributes in their wearer, while having protective powers. aquamarine, for example, is said to protect against ocean dangers. When Hollywood actress Jessica Biel received her engagement ring from Justin Timberlake, it featured two pieces of aquamarine to signify her March birthday.

Her fellow Hollywood a-lister Susan Sarandon, meanwhile, strung her birthstone — opal — together with the baby teeth of her children to make a bracelet with extra special significance.

But birthstones can be confusing. For instance, there is more than one gem associated with any given month. Then there’s the problem of history: you may believe the stone you are wearing is the result of thousands of years of mystic wisdom and astrological study, but it could actually be a relatively modern phenomenon. What you probably think your birthstone is THe commonly accepted list of birthstones in use today (the one you will see on jewellers’ websites) dates only from 1912, when the national association of Jewellers met in Kansas to come up with a definitive list.

The list had its roots in a biblical system based on the Breastplate of aaron (older brother of Moses), described in the book of exodus. The breastplate was set with 12 stones signifying the 12 tribes of Israel.

These stones were easily adapted to represent the months instead. on a commercial note, it also gave some of the more affordable gems a look-in.

The most recent addition to the list came in 2002 when the american Gem Trade association added tanzanite as a birthstone for December (which, incidentally, already had two birthstones in the form of turquoise and zircon). The american Gem Society list is: January — garnet February — amethyst March — aquamarine april — diamond May — emerald June — pearl; alexandrite July — ruby august — peridot September — sapphire october — opal; tourmaline november — topaz; citrine December — turquoise; zircon; tanzanite What actually is your birthstone? oVer time, many cultures and civilisations have adopted a system of birthstones, including the Greeks, egyptians, romans, Incas, aztecs, Persians, Tibetans and Indians.

These ancient communities’ priests and priestesses observed the movements and influences of the planets. They kept track of the past and predicted how each planetary activity would influence their community.

as symbols of their knowledge, they wore stones that replicated the Sun (brilliant gold stones such as carnelians and amber) and Moon (pale and luminous stones, such as pearls, moonstones and milky quartz).

For millennia, people believed that, by wearing these stones, they were calling on the heavenly bodies’ energies and channelling their powers.

each astrological sign is associated with a celestial object. leo, the sign of summer is, unsurprisingly, associated with the Sun. The sign just before it, Cancer, is associated with the Moon.

Their movements, and their effect on our lives, have been tracked since 8,000BC. While the Sun gave vital information about the seasons, the Moon’s monthly cycle provided insights about the ebb and flow of nearby bodies of water.

It is from this that the true astrologically based tradition of birthstones emerged.

While the Sun ruled leo and the Moon ruled Cancer, the other remaining signs had to share the five planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. each had to do ‘double time’ — that is, rule two signs.

The recently discovered planets, Uranus (spotted in 1781), neptune (1846) and Pluto (1930) have since been allocated to their own signs.

In discovering our birthstones, we are linking to the mystical side of our past and of our own natures.

We are also respecting the power of the rhythms of nature, and of the signs and planets that symbolise them. Use the guide at the bottom of this page to find your zodiac sign, your celestial representative and the stones that reflect the qualities of your planet. Ways of balancing your birthstone IF yoUr sign’s birthstones accentuate your nature, you may want to balance them with an opposing stone.

So an aries might not need more fire, in the form of a ruby or coral, but might want the softness of Venus’s influence in emerald or jade, or the sensitivity of Cancerian pearls.

a hyper-intuitive Piscean, on the other hand, might find the sharpness of Gemini’s tourmaline clears their mind; while Scorpio, whose natural intensity can sometimes morph into obsession, will benefit from the light of the aquarian aquamarine.

In asia, where the use of birthstones is commonplace, astrologers often ‘prescribe’ a stone as a sort of amulet, to balance excesses in your personality. It is intriguing to note that, even today, most Christian bishops wear a ring with a large amethyst because it amplifies any blessing. Finding the perfect astrological setting WHIle individual stones are worn to encourage the favour of certain of the gods — Jupiter for abundance; Venus for love — one particular arrangement of jewels, called a navaratna, encompasses each heavenly body’s fundamental energy. This is unfamiliar to most in the West,

but widely known throughout Asia. It’s not limited to one religion, but is used by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, and across various countries.

It is usually composed of the following stones (the names of the planets are in Sanskrit, India’s ancient language): Ruby for Surya (Sun) Pearl for Chandra (Moon) Red Coral for Mangala (Mars) Emerald for Budha (Mercury) Yellow sapphire for Brihaspati (Jupiter) Diamond for Shukra (Venus) Blue sapphire for Shani (Saturn) Hessonite for Rahu (the ascending lunar node) Cat’s Eye for Ketu (the descending lunar mode) Choosing the correct cut for your stone WHIlE our Western eyes are caught by sparkling, ideally substantial, gems, the ancient tradition is not about size.

And sparkling stones are not advisable, as the facets of a stone send its light out to dazzle the eyes of onlookers, when the objective is to focus that powerful energy on the wearer.

A stone should be set so it is touching the skin, and should be a ‘cabochon’ cut, that is shaped and polished so that all the light — and the power — remains inside it.

Some say the power of stones is the stuff of fairy tales. Others, including me, respect the power of the rhythms of nature, and of the signs and planets that symbolise those cycles.

Having been an astrologer for more than 25 years, I firmly believe that in rediscovering this tradition, we are linking to the mystical side of our past, and of our own natures.

It may well be that you might find wearing the right stone also gives you a welcome boost.